House Bill 20-1003 Summary

• Extends the Rural Jump-Start Zone Act for an additional five-year period through January 1, 2026, allowing new approvals of rural jump-start zones and businesses to continue creation and retention of jobs in economically distressed areas.

• Expands program eligibility to include Economic Development Organizations (nonprofits, small business development centers, business accelerators, workforce centers, and local economic developers) in addition to state institutions of higher education as applicants.

• Modifies the "new business" definition to prevent competition with existing businesses located in the specific rural jump-start zone where the new business will be located and in contiguous distressed counties, replacing the broader statewide competition standard.

• Requires state institutions of higher education and Economic Development Organizations participating in the program to adopt conflict-of-interest policies with disclosure requirements and annual reporting to the commission.

• Enhances reporting requirements to include tracking of approved zones, business status, advanced industry classification, ancillary economic development, and comparison metrics before and after the 2020 program renewal.